When the Game Was Ours

Publisher's Summary

From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s - Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black.Each pushed the other to greatness - together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships, and six MVP awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends.

With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports listeners to this electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry's obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader. We are there the moment he learns he's contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail.

A compelling, up close and personal portrait of basketball's most inimitable duo and a rollicking ride through professional basketball's best times.

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If you could sum up When the Game Was Ours in three words, what would they be?

Larry and Magic

What was one of the most memorable moments of When the Game Was Ours?

Learning how continually connected these two greats were (and still are).

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Dick Hill?

Someone who had the ability to speak naturally - Hill seemed overly intent on enunciating ev-er-y syll-a-ble, which is painful to listen to. In addition, he sounds so clunky reading the quotes from Larry that I could barely take it seriously. Finally, it seemed like he was unaware what basketball was.